India’s best monsoon in 25 years paves way for crops

Bloomberg

India recorded its best monsoon season in 25 years, paving the way for more bountiful crops including oilseeds and pulses.
The monsoon rains, which provide more than 70 percent of the country’s annual rainfall and run from June to September, totaled 968.3 millimeters, data from the India Meteorological Department show. That’s 10 percent above the 50-year average, and the highest since 1994.
The rainy season waters more than half of the country’s total farmland and is critical to agriculture because it affects not only the summer crop but also influences winter harvests. Rains were below average in the past two years, leading to a decline in output of crops from cotton to pulses.
“Excess rain in some areas has improved residual soil moisture and that will benefit sowing of winter crops,” said KK Singh, head of the Agromet division of the India Meteorological Department. This year’s monsoon brought normal or excess rain to 84 percent of the country, with the rest getting insufficient rainfall.
The weather office in May forecast rainfall at 96 percent of the average amid a weaker El Nino. A monsoon is considered normal when total rains are recorded between 96 percent and 104 percent of the average.
Production of monsoon-sown food grains is expected to be 140.57 million tons in 2019-20, up by 8.4 million tons from average output in five years to 2017-18, government forecasts.